Lebanon

Improving Livelihoods

Anera prepares young people for jobs in desirable fields. Through short, skills-based training courses, we are helping Lebanese and refugees take charge of their futures. Students, many of whom dropped out of school years ago, learn skills that the local market demands, in areas like nursing and construction. After completing courses, we provide cash-for-work employment opportunities to improve communities and help families. Anera also arranges paid internships with local commercial enterprises to gain real-world experience. Some internships lead directly into full-time jobs!

Teaching Basic Education

Anera’s basic education classes bring together youth from all backgrounds for classes that build community and help young people gain the skills they need to take control of their futures. Courses in life skills, basic math and literacy, and good hygiene practices combine to benefit young people’s lives in practical, immediate and tangible ways. Anera bases the timing, location and subjects of classes on the everyday reality the students face.

Bolstering Personal & Environmental Health in Lebanon's Communities

Anera organizes activities that promote healthy behaviors. Our outreach includes topics like protecting the environment, menstrual well-being and COVID-19 prevention. We distribute hygiene supplies and employ young people to help us carry out the activities, including many women leaders. Anera's solid waste management campaigns in the Bekaa Valley, Akkar and Palestinian camps have had a major impact on recycling habits and attitudes about household waste. And our awareness sessions on menstrual health have broken down stigmas and helped girls take more control of their lives.

Delivering Humanitarian Relief and Vital Medicines

Anera started in Lebanon by delivering humanitarian relief during the civil war. The program has grown larger in scope and value over the past 40+ years, as the country continues to host large numbers of refugees and, more recently, has seen its economy collapse. The medical aid program is Anera's largest in terms of value. In fiscal year 2022 alone, we delivered $28 million worth of medicines and healthcare supplies to clinics and hospitals across Lebanon. Another aspect of Anera's relief work is delivery of kits containing a variety of items, such as food and hygiene products.

Combating Food Insecurity

With the majority of Lebanon’s population living below the poverty line, food insecurity has emerged as a major problem. To help families cope, Anera distributes parcels filled with large quantities of nutritional, filling food. We also put our cooking students to work making and distributing hot meals during times of acute crisis. And Anera is helping some families to combat food insecurity in their own backyards. We are building greenhouses, installing irrigation systems, providing seedlings and delivering training on good agriculture techniques. Families we assist can feed themselves and sell produce for extra income.

Rebuilding Beirut

To address the dire need for rehabilitation and repairs in the wake of the Beirut blast of August 2020, Anera established a shelter program. We identified homes in vulnerable communities, households with large families, female headed households, seniors and refugees in order to provide necessary rehabilitation for those who likely could not afford to rebuild otherwise. Anera repaired 1,198 homes and small businesses that were damaged in the Beirut explosion, providing families with safe refuge and living conditions and allowing shops to reopen and re-employ their staff.

Organizing Sports Activities to Foster Life Skills

Anera offers sports and life skills activities to youth in Lebanon. The programs emphasize social interaction, mentorship and cross-community bonds. Anera also rehabilitates sports fields through the program, providing badly needed safe spaces for physical activity for young people in vulnerable and densely populated communities.